


Take my hand

by Mirha



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-23 09:13:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16156046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mirha/pseuds/Mirha
Summary: Ivan is devastated after Croatia's big loss for his 100th game. Thankfully, Luka is here to take care of him





	Take my hand

Ivan wrapped his arms around his own chest, trying to warm himself. The coat he was wearing was protecting him well from the wind, though, but the cold biting at his heart was coming from inside. In his hand, he held a worn-out news paper, torn from having been read too much already.

The defeat against Spain still stung and knowing that his plane would arrive in just a few hours to take him back to Barcelona hurt even more. He should have enjoyed what little time he still had with his teamates from Croatia, he knew that, but he just couldn’t do that, not without tears threatening to gather in his eyes. Since he didn’t want anybody to worry about him, he decided to take a walk. The place he reached was nice, full of pretty flowers and tall trees, but it didn’t do anything to dissipate his bad mood.

His 100th game with his national team. The worst game ever in Croatia history. The words were written in fire letters in his heart, consuming all his hope and happiness to leave nothing but ashes and an empty void. He should have been able to prevent it, but of fucking course he messed up and now his mind was clouded with regret.

He wandered through the park, no destination in mind, only wanting to take his minds off the defeat. But the more he tried to do it, the more the images of that terrible game invaded his mind, taking him to the edge of tears.

When that happened, he was standing on a bridge above a small river. There was a wonderful view from there, but Ivan just wasn’t in the right mood to appreciate it. He swallowed a sob back and tried to take a deep breath, but it didn’t work to calm him down. Ivan could hear his heart beating too fast in his chest and he was frightened at the idea of having a panic attack here, in public. Until strong arms circled his waist from behind in a tender gesture and a familiar body pressed itself against his back.

“You were walking so fast, I though I would never catch up with you.” Luka whispered.

Maybe Ivan couldn’t see Luka’s face, but he could easily hear the worry in his voice.His presence helped him to ground himself back to reality, to the hands gently resting over his stomach, to the warmth spreading from Luka’s body to his.

“Did you follow me all the way from the hotel?”

“Of course. What did you think, that I would leave you on your own after we suffered such a hard defeat? I thought you knew me better than that, cariño.”

“Aren’t you afraid of people seeing us here? What do you think they would say of you standing so close, not even an inch away from me?”

“I don’t care about what anyone would say, except for you. Right now, you’re the only one that matters, Ivan. You should learn to stop caring about what journalists and magazines say about you, though. I’m sure it would make you feel better, trust me.”

As he talked, his hand quickly moved to rip the newspaper out of Ivan’s grasp. The taller man looked down, embarrassed, since the headline was about that horrible game.

“Don’t look at it, Lukita, please. Don’t hurt yourself.”

“If I shouldn’t look at it, then why are you doing this to yourself Ivan? Reading about this won’t help. Feeling like shit about how we played won’t help. Come back to the hotel, train a little, bond with the younger players who just arrived in the team. This will help. Going here all on your own to mope and make me worry about you at the same time won’t achieve anything, though.”

Luka words made sense and all of a sudden, Ivan felt even more miserable than before for running away from his problems instead of doing something useful.He shivered as he tried to restrain a sob and Luka certainly sensed it because he hugged him a bit tighter.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to cause any trouble, to you or to the team. You’re right, I was… No, I am such an idiot.”

His voice was filled with sadness and tears started to fall on his cheeks. This immediately alerted Luka and his captain was quick to react, freeing Ivan so he could move and finally face him.

“What? No, that’s not what I meant at all! Oh my god Ivan, I didn’t want to make you cry, please calm down. You’re not an idiot, Ivan, you’re just hurt, like us all after this defeat. I just don’t want you to isolate yourself. I’ve tried it at first too and it doesn’t lead you anywhere, trust me. All I want is for you to stay close to me, so I can watch over you and make sure you’re alright.”

“Lukita…”

Ivan didn’t think anymore, he just threw himself in Luka’s arms and started crying on his shoulder, before covering his face in kisses. His tears weren’t only of sadness now, but also of joy because of the support his boyfriend was showing him.

“How do you do this? How do you manage to stay so strong even when things are bad?”

“Are you really asking me? You, the guy who fought to the last second of the game against England, despite having a fever? You already know the answer. I’m staying strong for the team and for you, Ivan.”

“I should be able to do it too, then.”

“Not always. You can’t be strong at all times, and it’s not a problem if sometimes you stumble, as long as you get up afterward. That’s why I’m here, Ivan. To offer you a hand so you can do that more easily.”

Ivan didn’t have to tell Luka that it was working, that he was already feeling better. His lover could see that in his eyes, from the way he stopped crouching to stand up tall instead. However, another fear soon crept up on Ivan’s mind, making him feel distressed once more.

“Yes, but soon enough you’ll leave to Madrid and me to Barcelona. I don’t know how I’ll manage to stay strong without you, Lukita. And I’m already so pissed at myself because I wanted these few moments we have together to be happy, to be about us fooling around or cuddling in bed or making love, but I ruined it all by not being good enough during that game and then withering into sadness. I’m so sorry, Luka…”

“Shh, it’s alright, Ivan. You don’t have to be sorry. I know all moments we spend together can’t be happy ones. That’s just how it is. Sometimes you just need to express how you feel deep down and I won’t blame you for showing your pain. It’s part of our relationship too and I want to have this, to know every side of you. And don’t think I’ll stop being there for you just because we won’t be in the same place anymore. You can call me at any time you want, day or night, and I’ll be there for you, I promise.”

“Oh, that’s great to know. I’ll call you during games, then. I’m sure Barcelona will get to the top of la Liga fast if Real Madrid plays all his games with his team reduced down to ten players.” Ivan teased him, a smirk on his lips.

“Now don’t try to take advantage of my love for you, dragi.”

“What? You don’t love me enough to let me steal all the trophies from your team? Now that’s selfish.”

Luka rolled his eyes, but Ivan could tell he was amused by their little game. The smaller man reached in for a kiss, taking his lover’s breath away as he used all his skills to make him lose his mind. When they parted, his captain had a satisfied smirk on his face and Ivan shivered, not used to seeing him looking this cocky.

“Don’t challenge me by speaking of our clubs, Ivan. I’m small, I could always sneak into Barcelona’s locker room before a clasico and then make sure that you won’t be able to concentrate on the game to come.” Luka whispered in a low, husky voice filled with unsaid promises, all while staying close to Ivan’s ear so that only him would get the words and what they implied.

“Bold of you to assume you wouldn’t be the one getting distracted.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised to see how resilient I can be.” Luka taunted him back.

Ivan was looking for an answer, but he suddenly froze, realizing that the emptiness in his chest was now filled with warmth and joy. He looked down at Luka, at his Luka, and he was overcome with pride and happiness at knowing that this man was his.

“You’re distracting me right now, just in a different way, aren’t you?”

“Yup.” Luka declared proudly, a cute smile on his face.

Ivan pulled him closer, but instead of kissing him he simply rested his forehead against Luka’s, simply happy to have him in his arms, even if it was only for a few more hours.

“I’m so lucky to have you Luka. You always know how to make me feel better, even when the times are harsh for you too. How should I thank you? I’d give you anything…”

“Even the titles for my club?”

“Lukita, I was being serious here.”

“Who says I’m not too?” His captain replied back, but the gentle look on his face spoke for itself. “But if you really want to make me happy, how about we go for a walk together? I mean, you found a nice place here, let’s not put that to waste. I’m sure it will be relaxing for the two of us and we won’t have to worry about watching over the team. It will be only you and me, for once.”

“You know well certainly come back to Sime and Domo wrecking havoc on the hotel, right? I won’t explain to you how out of control they can get, especially when Dejan and Mario aren’t there.”

“One more reason to stay here and enjoy our last hours together, in calm. Maybe we’ll even find a secluded bench to stop and make out of a while.”

“Did I already tell you that I love your mind, Lukita?”

“No, but you already said you loved me. That’s close enough for me.”

“Oh, I definitely can’t deny that. I love you Lukita, so much. Thank you for coming here and working your magic on me, you magician. I thought nothing could make me feel better today, but I’m so happy you proved mewrong.”

Luka giggled, a genuine smile on his face, and he intertwined his fingers with Ivan’s.

“Then my job here is done, I guess. Time for my walk now. I do expect you to spoil me a little bit in return.” He joked.

“Don’t worry, I won’t disappoint.” Ivan laughed, the biggest grin on his face.

He would definitely never get over how lucky he was to have Luka, that was for sure.


End file.
